Now this concert I was probably most excited for. I have never seen Shawn Mendes live in his own concert. I did see him open for Taylor, but he only sang about five or six songs. This was my first concert of his that was actually his concert and I couldn’t be more excited. My Aunt and I got there around 6 but the ticket said it didn’t start until seven so we still had time. When we got inside the venue, it was an absolute mob scene. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like it before. The merch line was the longest I’ve ever seen a merch line before. It took just twenty minutes just to get one tee shirt! They didn’t really let us in until 7, 7:30? I don’t really remember. All I kept thinking was “I’m seeing Shawn… I’m seeing Shawn.” 

They were also playing Shawn’s music from the speakers and everyone was getting hyped. Even when they started to let us in (since everyone was waiting for a while already when we got into the venue), some girls started screaming because they were so excited. I was excited as well but I was trying to save my voice for the concert.

When we entered where our seats were… I really did like them. Even though we were row seven, it was basically row 2. I don’t know why but I guess that’s how the section was designed. When I saw two stages, I immediately knew what was happening and I couldn’t have been more happy. It was still a little far from where we were sitting but just to be a few feet away was absolutely amazing.

On the screens, there was “Illuminate MSG” and it was so cool and in that moment, I couldn’t have felt more proud. And above the B-Stage, there was a big clear ball that was hanging from the ceiling. It was blue, kind of like the album cover and I wasn’t really sure what it was for at first. Here are some pictures I took of what the stage and “Illuminate MSG” looked like :). :

Everyone was getting so pumped for Shawn, it was insane. Also, did I mention the fact that this concert was being recorded?! Yeah! It has been recorded!!! I don’t know when we’ll get the DVD but I really hope it’s soon!!

We were waiting for Shawn to come on so the girls in the section next to me, they were shouting to get a wave started. It didn’t work at first but after a few times, the wave went around at least 5 times, it was pretty cool. The last time I saw a wave at a concert was Taylor Swift’s last summer. After the wave calmed down, they were still playing music and when One Direction’s History came on, I was basically about to bawl. Almost everyone in the crowd was singing the song, including me of course, and it made my heart ache. If the boys ever do come back, they should have shows at MSG just feel like what it is like now from when they were first there back in 2012 or 2013… I don’t really remember the year but I would love to see the boys play there.

Okay, I’m getting sidetracked because even though that was an amazing One Direction moment at a Shawn Mendes concert, we were still waiting and waiting and waiting. I was honestly surprised that there was no opening act because if there was one, they would’ve gone on already. I never really been to a concert where there wasn’t an opening act but the anticipation at this point was killing me.

Soon enough, people started shouting “We want Shawn! We want Shawn!” over and over again because we have been waiting for so long and it was already 8 o’clock. Here’s the video I took of the crowd chanting for Shawn:

Around 8:15 or so, the lights finally went off and the crowd went absolutely nuts. I do have to say it was one of the loudest concerts I have ever been too in a while. When Shawn came on, everyone (including me) was screaming their butts off. When he first started singing, I literally felt like I was going to cry because I felt so proud and everyone in that room felt so proud. There were so many real fans and everyone was singing every lyric to every song, it was a magical moment.

He was so humble and sweet and thanking everyone on stage for coming, it was so awesome. His first song that he sang was Something Big, The Weight and A Little Too Much. I could tell that everyone in the room was so happy and I could see people in the crowd with Canadian flags or flags from their own country, it was amazing. He also sang a lot of new songs as well as old. An awesome part of the concert was when he sang Treat You Better and everyone was dancing and singing along. The light show was also amazing, with green lights and everything and the backgrounds were so cool, as well as the “illuminating” ball that hung above the B-Stage.

There was also a part where he sang a Handwritten medley of I Don’t Even Know Your Name, Aftertaste and Kid In Love. I really wish he sang the full song of Aftertaste and Strings because those are my favorite songs of his but just the fact that he sang old songs as well made me extremely happy.

One of my favorite songs live was Ruin, Mercy, Bad Reputation, Life Of the Party, Three Empty Words and Never Be Alone. Ruin was awesome live because the music video was in an empty arena and this time, it was filled with 18,000 people singing along to the song and it was just so awesome.

He also sang new songs called Lights On, No Promises and Don’t Be A Fool. Whenever he started to play the beginnings of songs that people knew, we automatically knew them and everybody went crazy. It felt like I was at a Marc Anthony concert but I was at a Shawn Mendes concert haha.

Life Of the Party and Never Be Alone seriously gave me the chills. Everyone was practically screaming the lyrics and singing back to Shawn. It was also so pretty and amazing to see all of this in person and to be so proud of him in that moment, it was amazing. Also, there was a B-Stage right next to the soundboard/mix where he sang Life Of the Party on the piano and Three Empty Words on the guitar.

During Three Empty Words, there was a little fan project where fans held up a quote that Shawn had said and the papers said “Maybe one day I’ll play Madison Square Garden” and when he saw it, he smiled so big. I wish they handed out more papers, from the people who created the project, but they didn’t have enough so most of the floor only had the papers but it was still a cool project.

The last song Shawn sang, which was saved best for last, was Stitches. It was so much fun and even though there were only 16 songs in the set, it was one of the best concerts I’ve been too over the summer. Shawn definitely knows how to put on a show and he’s so talented, playing the piano and the guitar throughout his entire set to each song, it was amazing. The concert ended around 9:40 or so, being one of the shortest concerts I’ve ever been too since usually concerts end around 11:00pm. But since he didn’t have an opening act, it wasn’t as long as concerts usual are.

Below are videos and pictures I took during the concert and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

–Zoe 🙂